July 04--Three more newspapers said Tuesday that hyperlocal
content provider Journatic used false bylines on a number of
stories they have published, both in print and online.

The San Francisco Chronicle, Houston Chronicle and Chicago
Sun-Times joined the Chicago Tribune in identifying the use of
aliases in stories produced by Journatic, an ethics breach
prompting growing concern as more newspapers outsource content.

"We've produced lots of stories in lots of places and we've since
decided we're going to go in and look at every byline we've ever
done," Journatic co-founder and CEO Brian Timpone said Tuesday.

Journatic's use of false bylines came to light during a national
radio broadcast during the weekend. "This American Life," which
is produced by Chicago public radio station WBEZ-FM, included a
segment on aliases in several Journatic-produced stories that ran
this year on TribLocal websites, prompting an investigation by
the Tribune. That review is under way and expected to wrap up
within the next week, according to executives.

"It is essential that our news report, no matter the source, is
accurate and credible," said Gerould Kern, senior vice president
and editor of the Tribune.

Publishing stories under false bylines is a violation of the
Tribune's editorial ethics policy, according to executives, and
is generally unacceptable throughout the industry.

Founded in 2006, Chicago-based Journatic employs about 140
overseas contract workers, mostly in the Philippines, who gather
information online and then format it for more than 200
U.S.-based writers and editors, including 60 full-time staffers.
The company provides editorial content for a number of newspaper
groups and also owns Blockshopper.com, which publishes real
estate news.

In April, the parent company of the Tribune made an investment of
an undisclosed amount in Journatic, which provides coverage for
TribLocal's 90 town websites and 22 weekly print editions.

Hearst
Corp., which has worked with Journatic since 2009, also reviewed
its outsourced content in the wake of the report, identifying
false bylines at the San Francisco Chronicle and Houston
Chronicle. Both papers offered an explanation to readers Tuesday.

The Houston paper said false bylines appeared in real estate
stories over two years, in print and online. The San Francisco
paper, which uses Journatic to produce a Sunday real estate
section, found 32 stories with the alias Jake Barnes.

Timpone said Blockshopper went to aliases after writers began
receiving threats from angry property owners, but the practice
bled into its newspaper content operation. He said Journatic has
discontinued its use of aliases on Blockshopper stories in the
wake of the concerns from its editorial partners.

Timpone said Journatic has been providing custom real estate
stories for the Chicago Sun-Times since 2010. A false byline was
identified by the paper's previous owners more than two years
ago, but the relationship continued unabated -- until now. The
revelations over the weekend prompted Sun-Times Editor-In-Chief
Jim Kirk to pull the plug on future content from Journatic.

"With Journatic's partnership with the Chicago Tribune under way,
we already were in the midst of winding down our relationship
with Journatic's Blockshopper," Kirk said in an email Tuesday.
"However, in light of the recent revelations of false bylines, we
have decided to end our relationship immediately. Furthermore,
prior Sun-Times leadership alerted Journatic of a false byline in
April 2010. At that time, Journatic executives said they
addressed the issue, and they have told us they are confident
that no false bylines have run on content carried by Sun-Times
Media since that date."

At least one industry analyst said the newspaper companies need
to be more diligent in monitoring content partnerships.

"It is important that publishing companies be in charge of these
technologies," said media consultant Ken Doctor. "Whether it's
outsourced or in-sourced or however it works, it's important that
those who know the rules of the trade -- journalists -- are in
charge of making sure that the trust with the readers is kept, as
we apply these new technologies."

Doctor said outsourced content providers like Journatic are here
to stay, and properly employed, will help struggling newspaper
companies do quality reporting more efficiently in the digital
age.

Chicago-based Journatic freelancer Ryan Smith said his
frustration over outsourced content spurred him to go to "This
American Life" in April with his story. On Sunday night, after
the radio broadcast reverberated across the journalistic world,
he received his weekly Blockshopper assignments by email. He took
the work.